wissman



G. M. WISSMAN.

FOLDING BED.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1919.

Patented June 3, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET l G. M. WISSMAN.

' FOLDING BED.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1919. 1,305,579 Patented M11163, 1919,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 115ml. /7 q GILBERT M. WISSMAN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FOLDING BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3, 1919.

Application filed March 18, 1919. Serial No. 283,311.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT M. VVIssMAN, citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Beds; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a simply constructed and inexpensive childs bed or crib which may be quickly and easily folded with the mattress and bedding thereon, and placed beneath an ordinary bed when not in use, after the fashion of the trundle beds once commonly used, provision being made whereby the bed may be opened with ease when required.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel features of construction and unique association of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bed constructed in accordance with my invention, the detachable sides being removed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the bed in folded or collapsed position.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the bed extended for use with the removable sides attached.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view showing the manner in which the supporting legs of the mattress frame are mounted.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showingone of the sliding bars employed for initially starting the legs on their folding movement.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective illustrating an extension leg which may be employed if desired.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates a suitably constructed base frame, preferably of rectangular formation with vertical posts 2 at its corners, provided with casters or the like 3. The posts 2 are by preference braced by blocks or other suitable means 4 to the side bars 5 of the frame and these side bars form tracks as will hereinafter appear, the ends of the bars in question having inclined surfaces 6 and depressed seats 7 at the upper ends of said inclined surfaces, the surface 6 at one end of each bar being in downwardly converging relation with a corresponding surface at the other end thereof. The end bars 8 of the frame 1 may well be tied together by a central longitudinal bar 9 and may be connected with said bar 9 by oblique braces 10. It is to be understood, however, that this construction need not be too closely followed since other adequate arrangements might well be employed.

Hinged at 11 to the posts 2, if the frame 1 be provided with such posts, are the head and foot sections 12 and 13 of the bed, said 7 7 sides 17 are provided for the bed and may be detached when the latter is to be folded. When this is done, the sides 17 may well rest either on the folded head and foot sections 12 and 13, or upon the mattress and bedding.

Preferably used in connection with the features above described, are legs 18 connected by spring hinges 19 to the ends of the mattress frame 14, the springs of said hinges I having a tendency to swing the legs outwardly to operative position as seen in Figs. 1 and 3. The lower ends of the legs 18 are preferably tied together by transverse bars 20 and may well be provided with rollers 21. These rollers are normally received in the seats 7 so that there is no possibility of the legs folding inwardly by accident. When the rollers are disengaged from the seats 7, however, and allowed to rest upon the inclined surfaces 6 of the tracks 5, downward movement of the mattress frame 14, by inward folding of the head and foot sections of the bed, will cause said legs to fold bythe traveling of the rollers 21 along the tracks.

For removing the rollers 21 from the seats 7 and initially starting them toward their folded positions as illustrated in Fig. 2,-'I by preference employ a manually operated trip mechanism which may be of any suitable construction. For illustrative purposes, I have shown a foot lever 22 fulcrumed at 23 to the tie bar 9, and a pair of longitudinal bars 24 pivoted to said lever on opposite strike the plates 27 or the bars as the case may be, and thus so swing the legs 18 as to disengagetheir rollers 21 from the seats 7 and position them upon the inclines 6 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Inward movement of the head and foot sections 12 s and '13 will 'now depress the frame 15,

through'the instrumentality of the links 16, and such depression will cause'the rollers 21 of the legs 18 to travel along the tracks 5, thus allowing folding of the entire bed.

If desired, the pintles 29 of the hinges 11 may extend throughout the width of-thebed and carry springs 30 which assist in moving the head and foot sections upwardly to ver tical position, thus providing a device which is extremely easy to operate. This ease of operation may also be attributed to a large extent, to the spring hinges 19 which have a tendencyto throw the legs 18 outwardly to operative positions.

In folling the bed, it is not necessary to remove the mattress or bedding, but the sides 17 are detached and may if desired be laid u'pon'the bedding. The trip mechanism of the legs 18 is now operated by the foot lever 22 and at the same time the head and foot sections 12 and 13 are folded downwardly. The bed then" stands; in the collapsed condition illustrated in Fig.- 2 and if the sides 17 were not placed within the folded structure, they may well rest upon the head and foot sections'as showir in this fig ure. The entire device is now of such size as to permit reception thereof beneath an ordinary bed so that when it is not in use, it need occupy no unnecessary space, this being of great advantage in comparatively small bed rooms.

All that is required to open the bed for use, is'to pull upwardly on the head and foot sections 12-and 13. This raises the mattress .and bedding to the proper positionand the legs 18 are automatieallyshifted to vertical positions and engaged with the seats 7, by the spring hinges 19. f

In some instances, extension legs 31'having casters or the like 32, might well'be provided for the posts 2, in order that the height of the bed may be so varied as to dispose its mattress inapproximately the same plane withthe mattressof a larger bed. Each leg 31, as; seen clearly in Fig. '6, is preferably formed of a length of angle iron to receive &

place and it will be seen that by adjusting the legs to position the bars 8 in the proper notches 33, the height of the bed'may be readily varied.

If desired, hooks 35 may be provided for holding the legs 18 in vertical position, and these hooks may well be so located as to be released by the foot of the operator. The hooks 35 may be used in addition to the seats 7, theseseats may be used without the hooks, or the latter may be employed without the former, and in fact any adequate means maybe used for holding the legs 18 in proper vertical position.

From the'foregoing,-taken in connection and foot sections hinged to said base frame for downward folding, a. mattress frame, means for lowering said mattress frame when said foldable sections are lowered,- and for raising said mattress frame when-said sections are raised, and. foldable legs for supporting said mattress frame from; said base frame when the former is elevated for use.

2.111 a folding bed, a base fram -item and foot sections hinged to said basef-fra'me for downward folding, a mattress frame, means for lowering'jsaid mattress frame when said foldable sections are lowered-and for raising said mattressv frame when said sections are raised, foldable legs-hinged to saidmattress frame to rest on-said base frame when said mattress frame is elevated for use, and seats on said frame for thelower ends of said legs to normally hold them against folding. I

3. Ina folding bed, a base frame, head and footsections hinged to said baseframe for downward folding, a mattress frame, means for lowering said mattress frame when said foldable sections are lowered and for raising said mattressframe when said sections are raised, foldablelegs forjsupporting said mattress frame in elevated position for use, said legs beingfoldable by lowering of saidmatt'ress frame after they are initially started, and v a manually operated trip mechanism for so starting saidlegs on their folding movement.

4. In a folding bed, a base frame, head and foot sections hinged to said base frame for downward folding, a mattress frame, means for lowering said mattress frame when said foldable sections are lowered and for raising said mattress frame when said sections are raised, foldable legs hinged to said mattress frame and adapted to rest on said base frame when the former is elevated for use, seats on said base frame for receiving the lower ends of said legs, said legs being foldable by downward movement of said mattress frame when removed from said seats, and a manually operated trip mechanism for so removing said legs from the seat.

5. In a folding bed, a base frame, head and foot sections hinged to said base frame for downward folding, a mattress frame, means for lowering said mattress frame when said foldable sections are lowered and for raising said mattress frame when said sections are raised, legs hinged to said mattress frame and adapted to rest on said base frame when the former is elevated for use, transverse bars connecting the legs at each end of the mattress frame, said legs being inwardly foldable by downward movement of said mattress frame after said legs are initially started, a foot lever fulcrumed to the base frame, and oppositely extending bars pivoted to said lever on opposite sides of its fulcrum and having means to engage wardly with that at the other end thereof, a

vertically movable mattress frame above said base frame having hinged legs engaging said seats when said mattress frame is elevated for use, and downwardly foldable head and foot sections hinged to said base frame and connected to said mattress frame for either raising or lowering the latter, the aforesaid legs being inwardly foldable by lowering of said mattress frame after said legs are disengaged from said seats and engaged with said inclined surfaces.

7. In a folding bed, a base frame including corner posts and longitudinal tracks, downwardly folding head and foot sections hinged to said corner posts, a mattress frame having hinged inwardly folding legs resting on and adapted for movement along said tracks of the base frame, and inclined links pivoted at their upper ends to said head and foot sections and at their lower ends to said mattress frame.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set In hand.

y GILBERT M. WISSMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G." 

